


Dumpster

by Skye_Maxwell



Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Birthday Fluff, Canon Universe, College Nanako, Confessions, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dorks in Love, Established Relationship, Family Feels, Fluff, Frog Prince Yosk, Grumpy Old Men, Hide and Seek, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, Minor Injuries, One Shot Collection, Romance, Soulmates, Souyo Week 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-03-08 19:35:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18901246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skye_Maxwell/pseuds/Skye_Maxwell
Summary: Seven one-shots for Souyo Week 2019.





	1. Soulmates + Music (Pick a P4 Song)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Souyo Week! The prompts for the week can be found [here](https://souyoweek2019.tumblr.com/post/184053187971/prompt-list-for-souyo-week-may-26-june-1).
> 
> Each day has two prompt options, but I decided to be extra and combine the prompts. So like today, I will be doing both Soulmates and Music.
> 
> The song I chose is “Calystegia” from P4:Dancing. It’s the song that Yuko Osada wrote and Kanami later performed, and it plays during the end credits.

So far, nineteen didn’t really feel much different than eighteen, not that Souji had really expected a big difference. His birthday fell in the middle of the week this year, and his school schedule was too packed to celebrate even if he wanted to. Luckily, his new college friends had no idea it was his birthday, so he was able to hunker down in his dorm room without any fuss and work on a particularly grueling research paper.

His Inaba friends, however, had been messaging him all day. Souji had taken the time to speak with Nanako and his uncle on the phone, but unfortunately for the rest of them, he had to be disciplined about how often he sent out replies. Receiving the stream of messages felt bittersweet, because he missed his friends very much, and it was a constant reminder that the people he loved most and who knew him best were terribly far away.

Still, it was much better than feeling completely alone.

Souji was glad those days were over.

His research paper was due the next night, but since he would have no time the next day to work on it, he had to get it done sooner than later. He knew he still needed to take breaks though, and he had read the most efficient way to marathon schoolwork was alternating between fifty-minute sessions of working and ten-minute breaks.

Glancing up at his wall clock, he realized he was due for another break, and his hand shot out to grab his phone.

He switched the phone out of silent mode and then smiled wearily at the notification screen—this time he had messages from Chie, Kanji, Daisuke, and Rise.

He tried not to be sad that there was nothing from Yosuke (he’d been the first one to wish him happy birthday early that morning, after all), but nowadays it was hard for any thought about Yosuke to not be accompanied by some measure of sadness.

Yosuke was attending a university hours away, and they didn’t get to see each other very often. The last time had only been a few weeks ago, but the brief meetup had taken an unexpected turn and left them in a weird place.

They had been sitting on one of the benches near Souji’s dorm, silently looking up at the stars before they had to part ways. This part was never easy, but Yosuke had seemed particularly upset that evening.

When Souji brought it up, Yosuke had asked if Souji believed in soulmates.

Before his second year in high school, Souji would have said no.

“Yes,” he’d answered.

“Good, because I think you’re my soulmate.”

The conversation that followed was perhaps the most difficult Souji had ever had, as they both admitted their longstanding feelings for each other, but they also acknowledged the reality of their situation—they lived too far apart and had years of schooling left between them, so dating wasn’t practical.

As logical as the conversation had been, Souji had run through it in his head multiple times a day every day since, wondering what he could have done differently to create a more favorable outcome. It was inconclusive really, to acknowledge someone was probably your soulmate but that you shouldn’t date for the time being. Did that mean they would date later? Would they be on reserve for each other until they could date? Would that be after they graduated, or after they had secured jobs, or never?

The possibility of it being _never_ ate at Souji the most; he’d cried himself to sleep an embarrassing number of times over it.

_I’m never going to be with my soulmate._

Souji jumped as his ringtone went off, fumbling with the phone and then dropping it under his desk.

His ringtone had been the same forever; it was “Calystegia,” the song Kanami had performed at the Love Meets Bonds Festival. After the festival, she had recorded an acoustic version that Souji thought really captured the original meaning of the song, and it had instantly become his favorite. It wasn’t just because Kanami was his friend or because the song was connected to his memories of the festival, but the lyrics really reminded him how important the bonds he had made were to him. Those bonds kept him sane, kept him alive, got him through the lonely times… times like now.

From the floor, Kanami’s voice sang:

 _If you get a silver ring for your 19th birthday_  
_It means that you’ll connect to someone_  
_I read that on the net somewhere_  
_They laugh at it and say it’s just some ol’ gossip_  
_But then they all expect more from it and hope_  
_That they can get a ring like that from someone_  
  
Souji used his foot to maneuver the phone out from under the desk and then hastily bent to pick it up, but by the time he flipped the phone open, the caller had hung up.  
  
He quickly checked his missed calls, and his heart sank: he had missed a call from Yosuke.  
  
He was about to call back when Kanami’s voice started singing in his face again.  
  
_If you get a silver ring for your 19th birthd—_  
  
“Hello?” he answered breathlessly.  
  
“Just wanted to make sure your favorite song hasn’t changed, otherwise none of this is going to make sense.”  
  
“What?”  
  
The line went dead, and then Souji’s door handle jiggled, followed by the door swinging open.  
  
“You really should lock that,” Yosuke said, entering the room and shutting the door behind him.  
  
“Yosuke?” Souji said, his mouth completely dry as he watched his best friend cross the room.  
  
“The one and only, live in the flesh,” Yosuke said without the full extent of his usual good humor, keeping one hand behind his back and using the other hand to move some of Souji’s books aside so he could hop up and sit on the desk.  
  
Once he was settled, he finally took a deep breath and then looked into Souji’s eyes.  
  
“Hey, soulmate,” he said gently, looking conflicted even as he said it.  
  
“Hey,” Souji replied, feeling like something delicate inside him was being torn. “What are you doing here?”  
  
“I made a mistake.”  
  
Souji’s heavy heartbeats seemed to decelerate into slow motion, thumping along apathetically in his chest like they had nowhere important to go.  
  
Yosuke continued, “I shouldn’t have said you were my soulmate but then agreed to not be in a relationship with you. That’s the stupidest shit I’ve pulled in a long time.”  
  
Souji blinked a few times, the words not completely sinking in. “What are you saying?”  
  
Yosuke pulled out a long-stemmed red rose from behind his back and handed it to Souji. “I’m saying I’m sorry, and I love you, and I want to make it super clear that I’m yours, whenever you’re ready, whether that’s sometime soon or years from now.”  
  
Souji immediately and helplessly broke out into an invigorated smile as his heart roared back to life.  
  
“And what is this?” Souji asked, staring at but not daring to touch a silver ring that was tied to the stem of the rose with a red ribbon.  
  
“I’m not proposing or anything, don't worry,” Yosuke assured him with a tired smile. “It’s a birthday present. Like the song, right? A silver ring for your 19th birthday. But also, it’s a promise. I thought it would be nice to give you something more solid than a ‘maybe we’ll get together one day.’ You don’t have to accept it though, if you don’t want.”  
  
Souji shook his head, untying the ribbon and removing the simple silver band from the rose.  
  
Yosuke looked like he was about to lose his lunch as Souji held the ring out to him and then pressed it into his open palm.  
  
Then Souji stuck his right hand out and wiggled his ring finger, looking up at Yosuke expectantly.  
  
Yosuke gave a relieved laugh, muttered something about Souji _really_ needing to use his words, and then carefully slid the band onto Souji’s finger.  
  
“Now,” Souji said abruptly as soon as the ring was secure, gripping Yosuke’s hand and refusing to let go.  
  
“What?” Yosuke asked, confused.  
  
“You said ‘whenever you’re ready.’ I’m ready right now.”  
  
Yosuke laughed heartily, feeling like something inside him that had been torn was coming back together.  
  
“Whatever you want, soulmate.”  
  
Rising to his feet and leaning over Yosuke, Souji said, “You. I want you.”  
  
Bright-eyed and smiling softly, Yosuke repeated quietly, “Whatever you want.”  
  
Souji nodded and then closed the distance between them, permanently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “And this flower that you gave me, I want to give it to everyone.”
> 
> After they kissed, Souji took a picture of the rose and sent it individually to every one of his friends that had wished him happy birthday. Then they went on their first official date (screw that research paper), and then they kissed more on that one bench. Lol.


	2. Confession + Partner

It was the final round of charades, and Souji and Yosuke were the last pair to go.

They had spent the last few hours having lunch and playing games with some of their college friends: a married couple who were happy to be spending some time away from their fussy toddler, identical twin brothers from Souji’s political science study group, and two European exchange students (who looked like they could be Teddie's little sisters) who were lifelong friends and had met Yosuke when they were lost on campus and needed directions.

When Yosuke drew the slip of paper that had what he would be acting out, he threw his head back and laughed.

“Oh no, not again,” one of their friends groaned.

“You know you’re in trouble when he does the cocky laugh.”

“Just because you're confident doesn't mean you have to throw it in our faces, Yosuke-kun!”

Jumping to his feet and getting ready to go, Yosuke sang, “Don’t hate us because we’re winning!”

“You don’t even need to get this one right; you’re already way ahead of the rest of us.”

“Yeah, you guys haven’t missed a single one yet! That’s crazy!”

“Yup, and we’re not about to throw away our streak now! Right, Partner?” Yosuke asked.

“Right,” Souji said from his seat with a serious nod. “Perfect score.”

“Exactly!” Yosuke said happily. “Ready, Partner?”

The two of them locked eyes, phasing out everything else around them and focusing only on each other.

“Ready, Partner.”

Somewhere in the distance, a stopwatch beeped.

Yosuke bypassed the usual procedure and held up his hands like they were around handlebars, and then he crashed his imaginary bike.

“Trash can.”

“Yes!” Yosuke exclaimed, throwing his arms up victoriously.

“How the hell did you get trash can from that?!”

“A perfect score! And in record time!”

“Ugh, you guys suck.”

Barely hearing the complaints and congratulations from their friends, Yosuke dove toward Souji, yelling, “We did it!”

Souji laughed as he caught Yosuke in his arms, the sheer force of the collision throwing him against the couch cushions behind him.

“Good job, Yosuke.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you, Partner!”

“Are you guys sure you’re not dating?”

“Are you guys sure you’re not _married?”_

“The two of _you_ are married, and you didn’t do half as well as them!”

Yosuke and Souji froze, until Yosuke tried to scramble off of Souji, which ended up being a more difficult task than he originally thought. He almost looked like a fish as he flopped away from Souji and then just kind of slid down against the back of the couch. Unfortunately, the side of his leg landed on top of Souji’s (not helping their case at all), and then he had to quickly pop up and hop away from him.

Pretending that none of that flailing around had just happened, Yosuke said dryly, “Ha _ha,_ you guys are _so_ hilarious.”

“It’s seriously like you guys can read each other’s minds!”

“Yeah, they totally must have cheated! I think they borrowed some sort of secret service telepathy device from the future or something.”

“You are such an idiot.”

“How long have you two been friends again?” 

“Since second year of high school,” Souji answered, wearing his typical neutral expression.

“That’s not even that long!”

“Somebody check both of them for a wire.”

“Yeah, pop up for a second, boys, and let me search you.”

“Annnd we’ll have to say no thanks on the frisking!” Yosuke declared, jumping to his feet. “Maybe we’ll take you up on that another day, though!” he joked with a wink as he hurried away from the group, followed by Souji.

“They even speak for each other, pfft.”

“We can hear you!” Yosuke yelled over his shoulder. “Uh, I mean, _I_ can hear you, and he can also hear you! We can each _individually_ hear you!”

“Aw, you guys are scaring them away! Yosuke-kun, Souji-kun, come back!”

Souji turned and bowed to everyone. “Thanks for having us. We had a lot of fun. We both have some homework to finish before tomorrow, plus Yosuke probably has to pee, so we’ll be going now. Let’s do this again sometime.”

“Yeah yeah, take your victory and run!”

“They’re still speaking for each other…”

“Bye, my favorite dorks! See you next time! We love you!”

When they had made their escape and were back outside in the breezy spring afternoon, Yosuke said, “Did you _have_ to use the pee excuse?”

“I had to make it believable.”

“You’re the worst,” Yosuke said with a laugh, pocketing his hands and looking to the clear blue sky above them. “Do you really have homework to do tonight?”

“No. I’m two weeks ahead on homework.”

“You little liar!” Yosuke said cheerfully as they walked around the campus fountain. “But sweet, let’s go to my room and play that new video game you got me! And tonight I’ll treat you to a victory dinner since we totally dominated back there. Is that okay?”

“Yosuke…”

Yosuke halted, looking back to see that Souji had stopped walking a few steps behind him.  

“I need to say something.”

Yosuke frowned, walking back to Souji.

“Well go ahead and say it, Partner.”

“I don’t know how to.”

“Uh, with words? Out of your mouth? Like you were doing just now?”

Yosuke's joking tone seemed to bounce right off of Souji, and Yosuke realized Souji was truly struggling with whatever he needed to say.

“Do you wanna… charades it out?” Yosuke suggested, taking his hands out of his pockets and crossing his arms.

Souji seemed to contemplate it for a moment, but then he nodded.

When Souji flashed one of their established signals, Yosuke said, “Phrase.”

Souji lifted three fingers.

“Three words.”

He pointed to his eye.

“I.”

He pointed to the left side of his chest.

“Love.”

He pointed to Yosuke.

“You. I love you!” Yosuke declared, stringing the phrase together. “Wait, _I love you?"_

Souji nodded.

“As like, a charades partner?” Yosuke asked slowly, letting his arms drop to his sides and feeling like the whole rest of his body might drop with them.

Souji shook his head.

“You know you can talk now, right?”

Souji swallowed thickly. “I love you as _my_ Partner.”

“Oh.”

Feeling weak, Souji sat down at the edge of the fountain. He folded forward involuntarily, his head falling into his trembling hands.

Yosuke knelt down in front of Souji, placing his hands on Souji’s knees and peering up at his face.

Souji let his hands fall into his lap, and then Yosuke lifted his hand in a familiar signal.

“Ph-phrase?” Souji said shakily.

Yosuke nodded and lifted four fingers.

“Four words.”

Yosuke pointed to his eye.

“I.”

He pointed to the left side of his chest.

With a big sniffle, Souji said, “Love.”

Yosuke pointed to Souji.

“You,” Souji said, tears welling in his eyes and a laugh building in his throat as he placed his hand over the hand Yosuke wasn’t pointing with.

Yosuke raised two fingers.

“Peace?” Souji pretended to guess, hot tears spilling down his warm cheeks and choked-up laughter falling from his lips.

“Partner… you ruined our perfect score,” Yosuke said gently before dropping his peace sign and using that hand to pull Souji’s face down to his.

Souji chuckled one last time before their lips met, but then the sensation of Yosuke’s mouth against his own drained the humor right out of him. He suddenly became serious, grabbing Yosuke’s face with both hands so he couldn’t get away and pressing into him, and then Yosuke was the one laughing.

“You fucking liars!”

“I _knew_ they were dating!”

“Hey, we live in modern times! You can totally make out with your best friend in front of the whole campus without being in a relationship with him!”

“Who cares how it’s labeled? They’re in love! Get it, my favorite dorks!”

“How do we always find such obnoxious friends?” Yosuke groaned, pulling away and resting his forehead on Souji’s knee.

“I really don’t know,” Souji said, running his fingers through Yosuke's hair.

“Homework and peeing, my ass! You guys left us to come out here and mack on each other!”

“No one says ‘mack on each other’ anymore, you idiot.”

“I've gotta pee!” Yosuke announced, standing and pulling Souji up with him.

“You guys owe us an explanation!”

“Yeah, whatever!” Yosuke yelled as they made their escape, hand in hand.

“We’ll explain later!” Souji called back to their friends that they really were both quite fond of.

“You _are_ in love though, right?!”

“Yes, we are!” Souji answered confidently, earning a surprised little chortle from Yosuke.

 _“Still_ speaking for each other…”

“How _dare_ you hide your beautiful love from us!”

“Bye! Use protection! We love you!”

As they veered onto the path to their dorm, out of view of their friends, Yosuke tentatively asked, “So… kissing instead of video game?”

“Yes, please.”

“I FREAKING LOVE CHARADES!” Yosuke shouted so loudly Souji was sure the whole campus could hear. “I LOVE MY PARTNER!”

Wiping at his eyes and reveling in the day's victories, Souji laughed and said, “I love you peace.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not Souyo Week without trash can and tiny bladder jokes! ;)


	3. Injury + Holding Hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is established relationship, still in high school. Enjoy! :3

Yosuke’s head felt foggy as he opened his eyes to a blurry view of his ceiling. The next thing his mind registered was Souji, cuddled up against his side with an arm tightly fastened across Yosuke’s chest. 

The rhythm of Yosuke’s heart picked up in lazy, pounding beats as he took in the sight of a sleeping Souji clinging so closely to him, his expression slightly concerned as his chest rose and fell with even breaths. 

They didn’t get to do this very often, especially not in the middle of the day (if Yosuke’s bleary mind was correctly assessing the position of the sun outside his window), but Yosuke was in no way opposed to it. It was slightly concerning that he couldn’t remember how they got there, but that could be sorted out later. For now, he would be content to maneuver onto his side so he could hold Souji too and then drift back to sleep. 

As Yosuke went to sit up, pain shot through his (weirdly heavy?) arm, and then Souji, with his hand already in position, was pushing Yosuke’s shoulder back down. 

“Partner?” Yosuke asked, wondering how lightly Souji must have been sleeping to wake up at the slightest movement and why he was holding him down so firmly. 

That’s when Yosuke’s hazy brain finally looked down at his own arm, which was covered from his palm to up past his elbow in a flamingo pink cast.

“My arm! It’s in a cast! What the hell?” Yosuke asked as he attempted to sit up, only to be pushed down by Souji again.

“Yeah, it has been since this morning,” Souji said, his voice thick with tiredness. He didn’t bother opening his eyes, and he refused to budge. “Did you forget already?”

“Uh, kinda,” Yosuke said, staring down at his arm and wondering why the hell he couldn’t remember what caused what appeared to be a pretty serious injury. 

“Well, you  _ are _ on pretty strong pain meds.”

Yosuke could barely feel anything in his arm, until he wiggled his fingers experimentally and a bolt of pain shot through it. 

_ “Fuck,” _ he hissed. 

“Stop that,” Souji said, lifting his head and sounding a little annoyed now. “Just… stop moving, okay? Please.”

“Okay. Sorry,” Yosuke apologized, settling his head back on his pillow and then scooting closer to Souji before letting all of his muscles relax. “Remind me what happened?”

Souji seemed satisfied with Yosuke’s compliance, placing his head on the pillow right up against Yosuke’s. 

“Long story short…” he said quietly, his breaths falling across Yosuke’s jaw and neck, “…you’re not allowed to ride a bike ever again.”

“Not allowed…” Yosuke murmured in confusion, while Souji placed a lazy kiss just below his ear. “Not allowed to ride…? Holy shit, my bike!” he exclaimed, suddenly remembering the impact, the sickening sounds of metal folding and bones cracking…

“Shhh,” Souji insisted, already starting to mourn the lost serenity of Yosuke’s silent bedroom. 

“Souji, my bike! Is it okay?”

“Nope,” Souji said, shaking his head so that his bangs tickled the side of Yosuke’s face. “I threw it into the very dumpster you crashed into.”

“You did  _ what?”  _ Yosuke squeaked, starting to jostle around restlessly. 

“It was beyond repair, Yosuke,” Souji said sternly, tightening his grip on Yosuke’s shoulder until he stilled again. 

“RIP, bike,” Yosuke said sadly, resigned to both his and his bike’s fate. “We’d been through so much together. I guess… I guess I’ll just have to save up for a new one.”

“Absolutely not.”

“What?”

_ “We’ve _ been through so much together, and I want to  _ keep _ going through so much together, so  _ no, _ you are not getting another bike,” Souji said, laying down the words like they were law.

“But…”

In one hurried breath, Souji said,  _ “I’ll _ save up and I’ll buy a car and I’ll just drive you around everywhere for the rest of your life.”

Yosuke frowned at Souji’s miserable tone, realizing he typically didn’t get like this unless he was really worried. 

“Hey,” Yosuke whispered urgently, prompting Souji to lift his head and look down at him. “Come here.”

Souji adjusted his body and gratefully covered Yosuke’s mouth with his own, letting some of his frustrated energy out as he sank into his clumsy, ridiculous, beautiful boyfriend. 

When he pulled away, Yosuke looked up at him and said softly, “Maybe… we could just move somewhere with better public transportation?”

He was kind of joking, but Souji lit up at the suggestion, hope for Yosuke’s long-term survival blossoming in his heart. 

“Yeah, let’s do that,” he said hastily, diving back in to kiss Yosuke again. 

When Souji finally pulled away again, Yosuke sighed, “Partner…”

“Yeah?” Souji asked, running his fingertips along Yosuke’s jawline. 

“How did I crash into a dumpster?”

The desire in Souji’s eyes faded into guilt, and he buried his face in Yosuke’s shirt, pressing his nose to his exposed collarbone. 

“It’s my fault,” he said, his voice muffled against Yosuke’s skin. 

“Your fault? How?”

Souji admitted pitifully, “I was walking home from fishing at Samegawa, and then I saw you on your bike, and I hadn’t expected to see you today, so I got really excited when I did, and I called out your name, and then you whipped your head around so fast, and even though you were starting to lose control of your bike, you lifted your hand to wave at me, and then… then…”

“And then I crashed into a dumpster,” Yosuke groaned, the memory having resurfaced as Souji described it.  

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for? Being excited to see me? I’m actually really happy about that part. Don’t apologize for that.”

“Happy?” 

“I wouldn’t want you to  _ not _ be excited to see me. I just wish I would have, you know, reacted a little better. And that I would have crashed into anything but a trash receptacle.”

Souji chuckled at that. “At least it’s bigger than a trash can. It’s kind of like an upgrade, if you think about it.”

Yosuke rolled his eyes. “That’s way too optimistic, man.”

“At least you weren't  _ in  _ the dumpster, like you weren't in with the trash this time. You just kinda, collided with the front of the dumpster.”

“There is  _ nothing _ good about crashing into a dumpster.”

“You got a nice cast out of it.”

“Nice?” Yosuke asked, his eyes growing wide as he took another look at his cast. “What the hell is this shit all over it?” 

“Don’t call Teddie’s art shit,” Souji laughed. 

The cast was covered in a colorful array of sloppy handwriting and doodles, and Yosuke knew Teddie must have broken into his mom’s stash of nice permanent markers again. 

“Why did you let him do this to me?”

“I left him alone with you for like ten minutes.”

“You know that’s like, seven minutes too many, right?” 

“I know. I’m sorry. I had to pee. And eat something. And put some drops in my eyes because they were, uh, red,” Souji said, blushing lightly, which earned a sympathetic kiss to the top of his head. “And I had to call Nanako and Uncle. They were worried about you. But I came back as soon as I could. And as soon as I saw what Teddie did, I banned him from your room and sent him to my house to sit with Nanako. And I made sure to check that all the caps were secure on your mom’s markers. And I put them back in her secret hiding place that everyone knows about.”

“Sweetie,” Yosuke said softly, but then he recoiled as soon as he realized the mushy pet name that he had only ever used in his head had actually come out of his mouth. “Wait, no, fuck,  _ shit, _ I… Dude, how much can a guy embarrass himself in one day?”

_ “Sweetie,” _ Souji repeated in an elated daze, giving Yosuke an adoring look. 

“Fuck, you  _ would _ like it, geez,” Yosuke whined. “It's just, you're always so fucking sweet, and…  _ Damn _ it. Well, as long as I’m embarrassing myself, I was gonna say that you didn’t have to do all that, but thank you. I… would run into a hundred dumpsters to see you.”

“Yosuke, no…”

“Yes. And I would break a hundred of my arms, except I only have two—well, technically one now—but you get the point, and I’m sorry you were so worried, and I, you know, love you a lot.”

“I think that might be the drugs talking, but I’ll take it,” Souji said, taking Yosuke’s face in his hands and kissing him greedily. 

“Mmm, arm, m’arm, Souj—” 

Souji hummed in response, not really registering what Yosuke was trying to say as he continued kissing him.

“Par’ner… On m’arm… Souji? Ow…  _ Sweetie!” _

Souji wrenched himself away from Yosuke at that. 

“You’re on my arm!”

Souji jumped away from Yosuke, nearly falling off the bed, and Yosuke yelped in pain as he tried to reach out to catch him with his broken arm. 

_ “Fuck!” _

“Yosuke! I’m sorry! Damn it. I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay, it’s fine, just… get back over here and hold my shoulder down again, please? Before I hurt myself.”

Souji scooted back over, carefully resuming his position against Yosuke’s side and draping his arm across his chest. 

“I’m sorry, Yosuke.”

“I told you it’s fine. I wouldn’t want you to  _ not _ be excited to kiss me,” Yosuke teased lightly. “But let’s hold off for a little, okay? You can just keep being my seatbelt for now.”

“Your seatbelt?”

“Yeah, I’m strapped in, and you’re gonna stop me from getting hurt, right?” 

“You say the most adorable things when you’re on drugs.”

“Shut up, man.”

“Yes, I am your seatbelt. I will protect you.”

“Why is my cast pink?”

“What?”

“I know  _ I _ didn’t pick this. Why didn’t you protect me from getting a pink cast? Whose idea was this?”

“It was my idea. I thought you would look good in pink,” Souji said with wide-eyed innocence, until a not-innocent little chuckle passed through his lips. “And I was right.”

_ “Souji,” _ Yosuke groaned. “I’m never gonna hear the end of this from the guys at school. Or my co-workers. Or Chie.”

“Well, if anyone makes you feel bad, you can just look at this to feel better.”

Souji reached out and ever-so-gently lifted the cast up so Yosuke could see the underside of it. 

There, in very small lettering, Souji had simply written:  _ I ♥ U.  _

“Geez…” Yosuke started, and Souji was sure he was gonna get reprimanded for being cheesy or obnoxious. “…now I’m gonna hurt myself lifting my arm to look at it all the time.”

Souji lowered Yosuke’s arm and then slotted his fingers between Yosuke’s that were protruding from the cast. 

“Don’t look at it all the time. Just know that it’s there. And if you need a reminder that I love you, just let me know.”

“Okay… S-sweetie,” Yosuke said weakly, still incredibly embarrassed even though he was saying it specifically to make Souji happy. 

It was worth it when Souji smiled brightly in response, though.

Yosuke wiggled his fingers despite the pain, wanting to feel Souji’s fingers against his. 

“I’m still really tired, Partner. Hold my hand until I fall asleep again?”

“Of course.”

“And then seatbelt?”

“Then seatbelt.”

“Thank you, Sweetie.”

Souji smiled, nuzzling against Yosuke's shoulder. 

“You’re very welcome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Souji, every chapter: "I love Partner, time to cry about it." Lolol~ Sorry, Sweetie.
> 
>  **Update** : I posted a separate follow-up to this chapter called [The Bears and the Bees](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19870858)!


	4. Hanging Out with Nanako + Avoiding Dojima

When Yosuke had proposed they have Nanako’s dream birthday party in Junes after hours so they’d have free rein of the entire store, Nanako lit up as if she had just won the lottery  _ and _ a rainbow unicorn  _ and _ unlimited time with Big Bro every day forever. 

The obvious choice in a huge, empty store was an epic game of hide and seek. Nanako was thrilled to have enough people to play between her dad, her Big Bro, and the rest of the Investigation Team, and she was comically determined (Souji could swear her eyes literally sparkled) to win the game no matter what. 

When they were deciding who would be the seeker, everyone seemed to think it would be hilarious to choose Dojima, the only adult in the group.

Now, as Souji and Yosuke crouched nervously behind a fishing pole display with Nanako sandwiched protectively between them, they realized being hunted down by Dojima was not hilarious at all.

It was terrifying, really. 

It probably wouldn’t be if Dojima wasn’t taking it so seriously. 

But he  _ was. _

And while he was relatively old compared to the rest of them, he wasn’t  _ that _ old, and he was a detective. A smart, fit, competitive, slightly aggressive,  _ detective. _ He was basically a professional hunter of human beings. 

This had been a terrible mistake. 

“It’s just you three left,” Dojima announced, sounding like he was not far from their hiding spot. “I’ve already caught the rest of your friends.”

Nanako made a scared little squeaking noise but then clapped both hands over her mouth so she wouldn’t give their position away. 

The cake case in the bakery department had been designated as home base, which meant that Dojima had somehow managed to find and catch six (relatively agile and intelligent) teenagers before they could get back to the safety of the base. 

Souji and Yosuke gave each other a look over Nanako’s head that was typically only reserved for the TV world. 

Yosuke whispered, “Maybe he’s bluffing?”

Souji shook his head. “That’s not how he operates.”

“So what’s the plan, Partner?”

Before Souji could answer, Dojima said from even closer than before, “If I know my nephew, he protects the people he loves, and there’s no one he loves more in the world than his Little Sis and his goofy boyfriend…” 

“H—” Yosuke couldn’t even get the protest out before Souji clapped a hand over his mouth, realizing his uncle might be trying to get a rise out of Yosuke, who was admittedly loud and reactive. 

Yosuke sulked as he realized the same thing, a grimace and a blush crossing his features at the thought of being targeted like that. 

Dojima continued, “…so I would bet my paycheck that he has the two of them within arm’s reach right now. Not a smart move, Nephew. Valiant, but not smart.”

Now Souji felt targeted, especially since his uncle was absolutely right. 

“But I’m going to give you a second chance to be smart. Surrender now, and we won’t have to go through the whole process of me chasing you down one by one. I have no problem doing that, of course, but I’m just trying to make it easier on you.”

Yosuke hissed, “What is this, a hostage negotiation?!” 

Souji didn’t know what to do. He knew that staying all together made them a bigger target, but he couldn’t protect Nanako if they were seperated. Yosuke didn’t really need protecting, but it was good to have a backup protector for Nanako in case something happened to him. Plus, it just felt nice to have Yosuke nearby. 

While Souji silently struggled with indecision, Yosuke steeled his resolve, readying himself for action. 

“I’m gonna make a break for it and lure him in the opposite direction of home base. Once you hear him going after me, you take Nanako and run. Keep an indirect route until you get to the grocery section, then make a beeline for the bakery department. Got it?”

“Yosuke, no, I’m not leaving you…”

“Partner. I’m the fastest, and you’re the one who’s gonna get her home. I’m trusting you. Do whatever it takes. ”

Nanako kept looking back and forth between them with big, round eyes, not wanting Yosuke to leave but knowing that it was best to go with whatever plan her big bros came up with. 

Souji nodded gravely. 

“I’ll make sure your sacrifice is not in vain.”

“That’s my Partner. And you, Nanako, you’ve gotta be brave and listen to Big Bro. You win for me, okay?” 

Nanako nodded enthusiastically, clenching both fists with determination. 

“Good girl. Well, here goes nothing.”

Souji knew in his head that this was all just a game, but something about watching Yosuke run off to save him and Nanako felt particularly devastating, especially since it felt like he had failed to protect his boyfriend and was sending him right into the hands of his vicious uncle. 

This was no time to be overly sentimental though, Souji thought as he moved his mental focus back to the instructions Yosuke had given him. 

He winced as he heard his uncle’s heavy footfalls pounding in Yosuke’s direction, but he didn’t miss his cue, grabbing Nanako’s hand and leading her away from the danger zone. 

Yosuke, in the meantime, was zigzagging through sporting goods, trying to slow Dojima down by putting as many obstacles between them as possible. 

It was distinctly intimidating to have his boyfriend’s (insanely fast?) uncle chasing him, but it was even scarier when Dojima’s pursuit suddenly halted. 

Still running, Yosuke looked over his shoulder and saw that Dojima had stopped to catch his breath. A little worried that the older man might have finally hit his limit, Yosuke stopped and turned around, watching Dojima carefully. 

“Uh, are you okay?”

Dojima looked Yosuke square in the eyes and then smirked darkly, and Yosuke suddenly wanted to run away again, for his own personal safety. 

“You’re quick, kid, I’ll give you that. But I’m quicker,” Dojima asserted, tapping his temple with his index finger. Then he turned around and sprinted in the direction they came from, leaving Yosuke behind, dumbfounded. 

As he puzzled over why Dojima would stop pursuing him without tagging him, Yosuke also noted that for a second there, Dojima showed a glimmer of what Souji was like in the TV world—charismatic, confident (maybe a little cocky, even), and scary powerful, with a  _ hint _ of dorky under the coolness. They really  _ were _ related. 

Then Yosuke realized that Dojima had  _ wanted _ to draw Yosuke out, that he somehow _ knew _ Yosuke would be the one to make himself the sacrificial pawn. Now Yosuke, the fastest of the group, was farther away from home base, and Souji and Nanako were more vulnerable. 

Dojima was going to take the two of them out first and then let Yosuke come to him.

_ “Shit! _ ” he exclaimed to no one. 

He had been outsmarted, not to mention he had been called out on it. Did Souji’s uncle think he was some kind of idiot? If they were going to be in-laws one day, this was not a good way to start… 

When he heard Dojima approaching at top speed, Souji cursed under his breath. Had he really gotten to Yosuke that quickly? 

He and Nanako had moved as fast as they could, alternating between taking cover and running, and they had almost reached the grocery section. It was too risky now for both of them to make a beeline for the cake case with Dojima so close, and especially since with the direction he was coming from, he’d be able to cut them off at an angle. Plus, if he could catch Yosuke, there was no way the two of them would be able to outrun him. 

“Nanako, we have to run toward your dad right now,” Souji ordered as gently as he could manage, not wanting Dojima to get closer to base than they were. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t get you, but I need you to run as fast as you possibly can toward home and don’t look back, okay?”

“Big Bro, you can’t…”

“You have to win for all of us now.  _ Promise _ me.”

“I… I promise!” 

“Good girl. Let’s go!” Souji commanded, pulling her forward toward the intersection where they would run into Dojima. 

“You can’t outrun me!” Dojima called, almost sounding amused that they would even try. 

“Faster, Nanako! We’re almost there!”

They reached the intersection seconds before Dojima, and Souji let go of Nanako’s hand, using the momentum to basically fling her forward. He then turned to face his uncle head-on, standing his ground so he could block him. 

Dojima slowed until they were standing face-to-face, both appearing oddly calm. They simultaneously glanced sideways to Nanako, whose tiny legs were slowly but surely carrying her out of sight. 

When Souji returned his gaze to his uncle, he swore he saw something menacing in those eyes. 

“Are you _ seriously _ not going to let your daughter win on her birthday?” he asked, not completely holding back his exasperation. 

Pocketing his hands far too casually, Dojima replied, “I’m trying to teach  _ my daughter _ that no one is going to hand her things in life.”

Clenching and unclenching his hands at his side, Souji said tersely, “Isn’t it more important to teach her that she can succeed in life with the help of people who love her?”

Dojima seemed to falter for a moment at that, but only for a moment. 

“Get out of my way, kid.” 

_ “No,” _ Souji said, standing firm.

“Once I tag you, you’re out. You can’t block me.” 

“I can, and I will. Since you already think I’m a rulebreaker, I might as well live up to my reputation.”

Souji winced internally at his own words, not sure how hide and seek had suddenly brought out the baggage in his relationship with his uncle. He was in real hot water once this game was over… 

“I guess I have no choice!”

“Uncle?!”

Souji had no way of anticipating what happened next—Dojima assumed a tackle position and explosively shot forward toward Souji, easily throwing him over his shoulder and then running forward.

“Are you  _ kidding _ me right now?!” Souji shrieked, not having been carried like this since he was a little kid. Underneath the surprise and horror, he was honestly a little amused and a lot impressed, but mostly he just wanted to be back on the ground. “You got me; I’m out! Put me down!”

“I’m not stupid, Nephew!” Dojima huffed. “You made it clear you don’t care how this game is supposed to be played, and I’m not gonna let you get in my way!”

“Isn’t this a bit much?!” 

“Stop flailing around, and shut it!”

For some reason, Souji complied. Just as he had never expected his uncle to throw him over his shoulder, he had never expected his uncle to tell him to shut up. 

It was kind of hilarious if he thought about it. 

Before he could decide whether or not to laugh, Souji heard the shouts of his friends. 

“Come on, Nanako!”

“Keep going!”

“You’re almost there!”

“Don’t let him catch you!”

“Run like the wind!”

“Why is Dad-jima carrying Sensei like that?!”

Souji twisted around to see his friends all waiting by the cake case, beckoning Nanako toward them. 

Unfortunately, at the rate they were moving, it looked like they would reach Nanako before she reached the base.

As Souji debated on whether or not he was willing to kick his uncle where the sun didn’t shine for Nanako’s sake, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. 

As soon as he and Yosuke locked eyes, Yosuke lifted a finger to his lips, moving silently toward them at first and then breaking into a sprint. Souji barely registered that Yosuke had something bright yellow in his hands before Yosuke threw the object in Dojima’s path and then tucked one leg under himself, sliding across the floor with his other leg extended. 

The next thing Souji knew, Dojima was falling violently forward and he was being thrown from his shoulder. 

Souji braced himself to collide with the hard floor, but when his body made impact, he bounced off the side of something that wasn’t hard at all. 

“Holy shit! I can’t believe that worked!” Souji heard Yosuke shout happily, and then he heard the rest of their friends cheering in the distance.

“Nanako! You did it!”

“Congratulations, Nanako!”

“We knew you could do it!”

Relieved but confused, Souji sat up and tried to get his bearings. Then he heard Dojima groan and saw him struggling to sit up, so he quickly moved over to him and pulled him into a sitting position. 

“What the hell just happened?” Dojima asked gruffly, looking around for clues.

Yosuke suddenly popped up over the side of the raft. “Are you guys okay?”

“Did you just slide-tackle me into an inflatable raft?!” Dojima asked, making Yosuke shrink back.

“Uh… maybe?” Yosuke said with a nervous laugh. 

Souji quickly looked around and ran his hands over the soft surface beneath them, fully realizing that they were indeed in a yellow, inflatable raft. 

Souji worked it out aloud: “You tackled him to stop him from getting to Nanako… but before that, you threw a raft in front of us so we wouldn’t get hurt when we fell?” 

“An Instant-Inflate Raft!” Yosuke said proudly. “Dad and I always wondered if they really inflated instantly. He’s gonna be psyched when I tell him!”

“Amazing,” Souji said in awe, not sure how Yosuke had come up with that plan, let alone pulled it off in such short order.

His uncle, though, seemed less impressed. 

“You know it’s against the law to tackle a cop, right?”

“Wh-what?! It was just part of the game! A-and I made sure you didn’t get hurt! The raft! Remember? Ahaha, please… please don’t arrest me!” 

“Goofy rule-breaking kids,” Dojima muttered, reaching out to grab Yosuke by the wrist and pulling him sharply forward. 

Yosuke yelped as he tumbled over the side of the raft, flopping onto both Souji and Dojima. 

“You’re out, kid,” Dojima laughed good-naturedly, and once Yosuke realized he wasn’t about to get arrested (or murdered), he started laughing too. 

Souji eyeballed both of them like they were insane, and once he concluded that they definitely were, but he definitely was too, he laughed along with them, the tension inside him melting away. 

Once he fought down his laughter, Dojima said, “Hey Souji, what you said back there… about teaching Nanako to rely on other people? You were right.”

“Oh, um…” Souji said, caught off guard and feeling Yosuke subtly press closer to him. “Thank you. I appreciate you saying that.”

“You  _ better _ appreciate it. You hurt my pride  _ and _ my back,” Dojima said, cracking his neck and rubbing his lower back. “This is no way to treat an old man, you know.”

“Old man, my ass,” Yosuke said, immediately going wide-eyed at his own error and as Dojima shot him a look. “Heh heh, I just meant that you move fast, like a young, definitely not old, man! Uh, haha, I’ll go get you some ice from the break room!”

Yosuke tried to scramble to his feet, which was difficult on an inflatable surface, and then he flopped out of the raft just as unceremoniously as he had flopped into it.

“I’ll go with him. Maybe you should go congratulate Nanako?” Souji suggested. 

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” 

Souji nodded, content with that, but then Dojima added, “Thanks for looking out for her. Not just now, but you know… all the time.”

“Like you said, I love her,” Souji said, trying to tamp down on the emotion already welling up in his chest. “I’ll always protect her.”

“Even from me,” Dojima sighed, looking down and rubbing the back of his neck.

_ “With _ you.”

Dojima looked back up and smiled. 

“You’re really something, kid. All right, help me up. I think I owe Nanako an apology.”

Souji nodded again and then helped his uncle to his feet, and then Yosuke helped both of them out of the raft. 

“Um, while we get the ice, could you let Nanako know that she can pick any cake she wants from the case?” Yosuke requested, looking at Dojima. “It’s on me.” 

“If you’re trying to get back in my good graces…” Dojima said, placing a hand on top of Yosuke’s head, “…you were never out of them. But thank you, she’ll really appreciate that.”

“You’re welcome,” Yosuke replied quietly, looking confused as Dojima withdrew his hand and made his way toward Nanako and the others. 

Souji took Yosuke’s hand and started pulling him in the direction of the break room, grinning when he heard Nanako in the background.

“Wow, Daddy, you did so good! You were so cool! No wonder you catch so many bad guys!”

Yosuke laughed, “Looks like we were more scared of him than she was.” 

“You’re amazing, Yosuke.”

“Huh? Oh, because of the whole tackle-and-raft thing? Heh, thanks.”

“That was really attractive.”

“A-attractive?”

“Hot. It was hot.” 

Yosuke quirked an eyebrow suspiciously as Souji sped up and tugged him along. 

“Are we going to—?”

“Make out in the break room? Absolutely.”

Yosuke laughed again, trying to slow Souji down. “I’m glad you appreciated my hide and seek efforts, Partner, but we have to get back to Nanako’s party.”

“We just risked our lives for her. She can wait while we make out for like ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes?! Everyone’s gonna notice if we’re gone for that long!”

“So, nine minutes?”

“No!”

“Eight minutes? I’m  _ not _ going lower than seven minutes.”

“What is this, a hostage negotiation?!”

“It wouldn’t be if you were more compliant.”

“What the hell, man,” Yosuke sighed. “Seven minutes only, okay? We gotta get that ice back to your uncle.” 

Souji shook his head. “The ice is all gonna be melted by then.” 

“What?”

“Because the ice is in the break room. And we’ll be in the break room. And it’s gonna be hot.”

“Sheesh, and people think  _ I’m _ the idiot!”

Souji grinned, pleased with himself, but also just happy to have Yosuke by his side. 

“My uncle was right about one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“There’s no one I love more in the world than you.” 

_ “Shit, _ Partner,” Yosuke, blushing furiously. “If you’re trying to get me to agree to more than seven minutes—”

“I’m not.”

Yosuke surveyed Souji’s face thoroughly, and then he said softly, “Ten minutes.”

Gripping Yosuke’s hand excitedly, Souji said, “I _ love _ you.”

“So I’ve heard!” Yosuke exclaimed with a laugh, throwing open the door to the break room and flinging his goofy boyfriend inside. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m especially fond of today’s prompts. I proposed the Nanako one because what the world needs now is Nanako, sweet Nanako. But really, it was selfish; I love Nanako with Souyo fluff, so I wanted an influx of this in my life. XD I also hold a teeny-tiny lil’ grudge against Dojima, so when voting for the prompts came around and I saw ‘Avoiding Dojima’ was an option, I laughed really hard (and then hella voted for it). :D


	5. Fantasy + Shadows

As the sun began to rise, Souji laid flat upon the muddy earth, spent from another long night of fighting off the shadows that terrorized the vast swamp.

Even though there was not much left in him, Souji knew he needed to find his prince, no matter the cost. 

Though he was not exactly sure when he had started thinking of Prince Yosuke as  _ his _ prince. 

Souji was a prince himself, after all, of a neighboring kingdom, or he was up until he had chosen to leave several weeks prior. He may or may not have forfeited that title when he fled the kingdom alone while everyone else was preoccupied with tying the witch Izanami to a stake. 

Perhaps he had started thinking of Prince Yosuke as his when he realized he was the only one willing to risk the journey to the cursed Southern Swamp to search for him. 

But perhaps it was much, much earlier than that. 

They had grown up together, as their kingdoms were allies, and as the only children of their parents, the two of them shared between them the best tutors the two lands could provide. They had learned everything together—literature, geography, astronomy, horseback riding, archery, swordsmanship… 

And magic. 

Though, as royals, they were not supposed to delve into magic. Magic had a bad name in the kingdoms because of dark witches like Izanami. However, as boys, Prince Souji and Prince Yosuke found the subject fascinating, and as young men, they found it necessary to learn for the defense of their respective kingdoms. And so, the two of them studied the subject in secret, in the abandoned rooms of their estates, away from disapproving eyes. 

Prince Souji wondered what those disapproving eyes would think if they saw him now, his tanned skin covered in a layer of filth, his typically bright eyes dull and sunken. He had only been able to carry so many supplies with him, and they were beginning to run out. The water from the swamp was not suitable to drink, and none of the vegetation around the swamp was suitable for consumption. There were no animals to hunt either; the only sizable creatures inhabiting the swamp were the frogs, and the shadows. 

And although a frog could potentially be a viable food source, if Souji were to indulge here, he would never be able to shake the thought that he may have killed (and cooked and eaten) what was formerly a human being, worst of all his dear Prince Yosuke. 

It was said that the witch Izanami’s punishment of choice for those who might cross her was to turn them into common frogs. She would then send them to the Southern Swamp, which was overrun with shadows that would emerge at night to torment the frogs, or any other creature who dared come near. These shadows were monsters with an innate ability for dark magic, and perhaps a larger concern, an innate desire to rip apart anything that moved. That is what made Izanami's punishment most sinister—she magically bound the frogs to the swamp, making it physically impossible for them to escape the reach of these vicious shadows. 

No one could be sure how many times Izanami had actually done this (as rumors tended to run wild and out of proportion in the kingdom), but as Souji looked out on the swamp and its many frog inhabitants, he hoped against hope that the vast majority of them were just normal frogs and that she had only truly done the spell one time. 

Well, he wished she had not done it even the one time so that he would not be withering away while looking potentially fruitlessly for the frog version of his best friend, but that was far too much to ask at this point. 

It had been nearing the time for Prince Yosuke to ascend the throne and become king, and he had announced grand plans for changes to his kingdom, with which Izanami had apparently taken profound issue. Prince Yosuke had hoped to stimulate their stagnant economy by bringing in a larger pool of resources and by creating more opportunities for his citizens to become educated and earn regular wages. He had mentioned the potential (perhaps prematurely) of a complete merging of his kingdom with Souji’s family’s kingdom, as the two kingdoms each had differing resources and areas of expertise they could share with one another. 

Souji had been stunned when Yosuke had spoken of the idea in such an important public address, as he had thought such a thing would forever remain a shared daydream. 

The two had figured that being kings of separate kingdoms would keep them apart, especially as they became older, but if they merged into one single kingdom, they could be together. 

Not  _ formally _ together, as they were expected to marry women from their own kingdoms, but at least they would be frequent, permanent fixtures in each others’ lives as they worked together for the good of their people. And while each man was free to search for a fitting partner and marry for whatever reason he saw fit, including love, an heir was expected from the union. 

Choosing a man for a partner would be forbidden, though if Souji was being honest with himself, he could not foresee being able to choose anyone other than Yosuke, even for the sake of his kingdom’s future, even if it was common and acceptable to enter into a loveless marriage in order to produce an heir, even if all the most lovely women in the kingdom were more than willing to be his queen. 

Souji wondered if his king and queen would disown him if he expressed such thoughts and desires aloud. They certainly had their suspicions when it came to their son’s interest in his childhood best friend (which could have only been compounded by his disappearance), but it seemed they were willing to leave such concerns unspoken as long as their son, who very much knew what was expected of him, did the same. Though, perhaps if he was disowned, he would not mind too terribly. 

And he may have already been disowned, he reminded himself, as it was no small slight to leave behind his royal duties and responsibilities without a word to his parents. He had left only a note behind for one of his tutors to find, stating his intention to search for Yosuke. 

Maybe the king and queen thought him to be dead. No one had ever returned from the Southern Swamp, and so no one dared go near it anymore. But Souji knew magic and could fight off the shadows, for which he was now infinitely grateful. He could deal some damage to the shadows with his sword, but it was much more effective to destroy them from a safe distance with magic attacks. 

And if his parents did think him dead, and Yosuke’s parents had given up on him as well, perhaps once Souji found his prince, they could simply… disappear. Go far away. Do as they pleased. Be free. Be together. 

Souji certainly had a penchant for wishful thinking. 

In reality, it was not only possible, but likely, that Yosuke had perished by now. Even if the shadows had not gotten to him and he was still alive, the swamp covered such a large area that it was possible Souji would never find him. And even if Souji did encounter him, it was possible he would not recognize him. Perhaps they had already crossed paths and did not even know it.  

Prince Souji (or The Prince of the Southern Swamp, as he now thought of himself) spent his nights defending seemingly random frogs from shadows, and he spent his days staring at the frogs, waiting for one to do something… un-frog-like. He was not sure how much of his humanity Yosuke would have retained, but Souji hoped it was enough to make him stand out, even in the slightest. Perhaps he would have a crooked hop from having to get used to his new legs, or he would have an odd croak from not being able to speak the words in his head, or he would be clumsy and fall off a lilypad like the many times he had fallen off his horse. 

Anything. 

Souji was looking for  _ any _ sign of hope. 

As he looked up to the swiftly brightening sky, stomach growling and head pounding and heart aching, Souji wondered if he could ever give up looking for the man he loved, as hopeless as it was. 

He loved Prince Yosuke, he realized with utmost clarity, as tears began to burn his bloodshot eyes. 

He had to find him. There was no other option. And because Souji loved him, he would take him back to his own kingdom where he belonged, and they would find a way to lift the curse he was under. And Yosuke would become king and find a wife and produce an heir, and Souji would observe it all, proudly and from afar. That was what was best for Yosuke, and he deserved nothing less than the best. 

Even as he forced these thoughts on himself, hot tears slid from Souji’s eyes, making tracks through the dirt on his face. 

A weight suddenly landed on Souji’s stomach, and he nearly batted it away on reflex before he stopped himself, realizing it was one of the swamp frogs. 

The frog hopped onto his chest and then sat there, facing Souji. Souji’s gut did a somersault as he lifted his head and found the frog staring directly into his eyes. 

Could it be…? 

“Yosuke?” he asked, causing new, terrified tears to slide down his cheeks. 

Suddenly the frog leapt at his face, and the only defense Souji had time for was squeezing his eyes shut. 

What he felt next was lips pressed firmly against his and the weight of a human body on top of his own.

Souji’s eyes shot open, only to see Prince Yosuke in full human form, appearing just as he had before he was turned into a frog. Souji immediately shoved Yosuke off with both hands and scooted away. 

“What on earth?!” Yosuke demanded in an indignant, rather croaky yell. “That is no way to treat your recently un-frogged true love!” 

“Un-frogged…” Souji said numbly, staring at Yosuke as if he might be a rather convincing hallucination. “Is it really you?”

“You dimwit, of course it is! This is supposed to be a  _ happy _ reunion, and I will have you know you are distinctly ruining it.”

“It _ is _ you,” Souji said in disbelief, crawling toward Yosuke and reaching out hesitantly to touch him, as if he might dissolve before him. 

Yosuke grabbed Souji’s whole arm and pulled him into his embrace, hugging Souji so painfully tight that Souji knew it had to be real. 

_ “My prince,” _ Souji finally whispered with certainty, crushing Yosuke in his arms and crying shamelessly into his hair. “I was beginning to think I would never find you!”

“Technically, I found  _ you,” _ Yosuke said with the slightest laugh as he rubbed small, comforting circles on Souji’s back. 

“How on earth did you avoid the shadows?”

“Just as any proud, honorable, future-king would do… I hid. I cowered behind a big rock and hid like there was no tomorrow. How did  _ you _ avoid the shadows?”

“I fought them, with the magic we learned together.”

“I knew learning magic would be useful! And now it has saved us both.”

“Yosuke… I missed you terribly. I was so frightened. I thought you might have died already. I did not know how I was going to live without you…” 

“Do not speak in such a manner. I am here now, because of you. I needed you, and you came through for me, as you always do. You saved me.”

“I saved you?” Souji asked, pulling back to look at Yosuke. “How?” 

“With your lips.”

“My… lips?” 

“Do you not see? It is just like the fairytales! The frog prince and his true love kiss, and the frog turns into a human prince.”

“I… do not recall any fairytale going like that…”

“I am trying to tell you I love you, you dimwit!” 

“Me?” Souji asked, pointing to himself. 

“No, the other dimwit whose face I am yelling in! Yes, you!”

“I am confused.”

“Just listen to me! True love’s kiss breaks the curse, and once frog-me saw you, I knew I could kiss you and become human again, because I have been in love with you for as long as I can remember, and you are  _ obviously _ smitten with me, so frog-me leapt at your dimwit face and kissed it, and lo and behold, frog-me turned into human-me, thus confirming that you are my true love! Do you understand?”

Souji slowly nodded, and then he burst into a new round of tears. 

“For heaven’s sake, this is supposed to be a  _ happy _ reunion,” Yosuke grumbled, pulling Souji forward by his grimy shirt so he could give him a proper, non-frog kiss. 

Souji hesitated for a moment but then leaned into the kiss, only for Yosuke to pull away in disgust. 

“Your lips are slimy!” 

“Whose fault is that?!” Souji snapped, finally at his patience’s end. 

“Oh. I suppose that would be mine,” Yosuke realized, and then he began to laugh uncontrollably, clinging to Souji with both hands. 

“You dimwit,” Souji sighed, pressing his lips to Yosuke’s forehead. 

_ “You  _ are a dimwit! And you smell rancid!”

“I have been living in a swamp for weeks! For your sake, I might add!”  

“We  _ must _ get you back home for a proper bath so you will be more pleasant to kiss.”

Souji became immediately crestfallen, pushing Yosuke’s hands away from himself. 

He shook his head and said, “No, we cannot… it does not matter how I feel. You have a kingdom to rule, as do I. We have duties, we have to marry and produce heirs, we—”

“Do not spout that nonsense at me that has been force-fed to us all our lives. We are in love, and we will make this work, and we know magic, so anyone who says otherwise can live the rest of their sorry lives as frogs.”

“My dear Prince Yosuke, we cannot turn the entirety of our kingdoms into frogs…”

“Souji. I cannot foresee being able to choose anyone other than you. I will not.”

“But our families, they will never—” 

“I have already wasted too much time fearing the opinions of others and hopping around like a slimy coward, quite literally. If I am forced to choose between you and all else I have in this world, I will unequivocally choose you.”

“You seem all too sure, Yosuke,” Souji said, brushing Yosuke’s hair behind his ear. 

“There is nothing quite like being a human stuck in a frog’s body for properly arranging one’s priorities.”

“And you are sure that I am worthy of such sacrifice?”

“I am, because I am sure that you love me the same as I love you. Even without true love’s kiss, you are… very obvious.”

“You claim to be my true love, and yet you so deeply wound my pride.”

“I can provide you with the full truth only  _ because _ I am your true love,” Yosuke said, taking Souji’s hands and pulling him to his feet.

“So you are,” Souji said fondly. “We shall return home then, and face our kingdoms together. I do hope we can win their approval. But if I accomplish nothing else, I must at least have a proper bath so I will be more pleasant to kiss.”

Smiling warmly and pulling Souji forward by the hand, Yosuke said, “I look forward to it, my prince.”

“Which part?”

“All of it! Returning home, winning everyone over together, you smelling better…”

“I am starting to think I should have left you as a frog,” Souji said flatly. Seeing Yosuke's delightful scowl, he continued, “Indeed, you may have been easier to manage as a pet. Though if you behaved, perhaps you would earn a promotion to kingdom mascot. I could have fashioned you a tiny crown of gold, and maybe a little red scarf to keep your little frog neck warm in the winters.”

"And likewise, I should have left  _ you _ to continue fighting the shadows with this awfully frail frame you have acquired, until they either devoured you like a regrettably stale biscuit, or the wind blew the wrong way and snapped you in half like a rather pathetic twig. In all honesty, if I had met you in this state, I hardly would have fallen in love with you at all.” 

“I weep for the kingdom that is fated to be ruled by a king so lacking in manners." 

“Then weep for your own kingdom, my love, for my intention to unite us has not diminished in the least.”

Souji's teasing demeanor fell away, eyes filling with a hopeful gleam.

“You truly mean that? You truly desire to merge our kingdoms?”

“Not if you insist on looking like a filthy swamp monster. I am afraid I cannot be associated with such an unseemly appearance…”

“Yosuke…” Souji said exasperatedly. 

“I only jest,” Yosuke assured him, his voice going softer and lower. “My heart's truest desire is and has been only for every facet of our lives to be merged as one. I shall not be satisfied with anything less.”

“You do realize the suggestive tone of such a statement, do you not?”

“It does not escape me, especially as I did it on purpose,” Yosuke declared with a wink. “But I still heartily insist that you bathe first. And eat, yes, we must fill you up and restore your strength and stamina, both of those will be quite necessary…”

_ “Yosuke!” _

“Let us make haste toward our home,” Yosuke insisted, bounding forward energetically. 

Souji smiled at the endearing little movement. “It seems you have a residual hop left in your step.”   


“I am simply excited to leap toward our future! It will be most ribbiting. We shall live hoppily ever after!”

_ “Hoppily ever after,” _ Souji repeated, chuckling at the awful joke and wondering how he ever could have doubted that Prince Yosuke was his true love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't really done much in the way of AUs (I do a lot of canon universe), but it's something I've recently become interested in, and I _couldn't_ pass up on Frog Prince Yosk once the idea popped into my head. *fashions a tiny gold crown for Jiraiya*


	6. Arcana Swap + Growing Old Together

“I’m getting too old for this shit,” Yosuke complained from the ground, grumpily looking up at his husband. 

He was getting forgetful in his old age, and it was getting harder to remember the strengths and weaknesses of his many Personas, even though he’d been using some of them since he was a teenager. 

That’s why he had been knocked to the ground—he had forgotten that the Persona he had equipped was weak to ice, and the shadow they'd been fighting had Bufudyne’d him flat on his ass. 

“You’re not  _ that _ old,” Souji replied, giving Yosuke a hand up and very much trying to hold back a groan at the effort. 

“Well,  _ you _ sure as hell are old, and since we’re the same age, I must be pretty freaking old too.”

“We’re upper middle-aged,” Souji said, sliding his sword into the worn leather sheath that Yosuke had gifted him… a decade ago? Two decades ago? 

“Give me a break. We get discounts at the movies and restaurants and the grocery store, and we’re constantly getting mail about buying life insurance. Face it: we’re senior citizens, and we’re basically already dead.”

“Don’t say that. I like all the discounts we get. And life insurance is important.”

“You don’t mind being old because you’ve been a senior citizen since I met you in high school.”

“You’re not wrong,” Souji said with a shrug, knowing that he had always been somewhat of an old soul. 

“Between you and Kanji and all the cats and knitting, I swear…”

“Every time one of us gets a new cat, it needs a new knitted wardrobe. After all these years, we can’t stop the cycle now.”

“You really could if you wanted to.”

“I don’t want to.”

“I know,” Yosuke sighed. “But even though you’re weird and old, you somehow still manage to be hot. It’s totally unfair.”

“Unfair to you? Or unfair to everyone who’s not you?”

“Both.”

“You’re still hot too.”

“Don’t patronize me. You’ve always been the hot one, and you know it.”

Souji shook his head a little too vigorously, making himself lightheaded. 

“I  _ don’t _ know that. You think I’d marry someone who wasn’t hot?”

“That’s total hot-guy mentality right there! And you didn’t marry me because I was hot, you married me because I blinded you with my youthful charm and because we had history, and you’re a sentimental fool.”

“You’re a fool if you think you’re not attractive in every way possible. And you’re a Fool, because, you know, arcana…” 

“Yeah, I get it,” Yosuke said, rolling his eyes. “Be a good Magician and make yourself disappear.”

Souji snickered. “That one never gets old.”

“Speaking of old, do you remember back in high school, Naoto’s dungeon, how we were turned super old? Like decrepit, decaying-level old?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you think we’ll still be doing this when we’re that old?”

“Doing what? Arguing about how hot you are? Probably.”

“No, I mean, _ this,” _ Yosuke said, gesturing to the shadow world around them. “Fighting. Using our Personas.”

“I don’t mind it. I like to think of my Persona as a muscle. Susano-o needs his exercise. And so do all your guys, and gals. I wouldn’t want my soul muscle to atrophy.”

“Okay, but do you think all of this will ever just be, I don’t know, done? Like, ‘good job, guys, you finally totally completely saved the whole entire world this time, and it will permanently no longer be in danger of ending, thanks for spending most of your life on this little side project, you can retire peacefully now.’ Is that ever gonna happen? Or are we just gonna keep fighting until we… can’t…”

“Don’t worry about that,” Souji said, taking Yosuke’s hand and kissing his temple. “We’ve always agreed that as long as we have the power to fight, we have the responsibility to do so. That’s our fate. We don’t get to control if or when it ends. We just do what we have to, like everyone else.” 

“It sounds so mundane when you put it like that. But all this shit takes a toll. The weight of the world isn’t exactly easy to carry, especially when you’re the one calling the shots and you can’t even remember that your Persona who has freaking flames shooting out of his head is weak to ice.” 

“You’re a good leader, Yosuke. You made one mistake. If you’re really having a hard time with your memory, we’ll start doing crosswords or sudoku puzzles or something,” Souji said softly, wrapping his arms around Yosuke’s waist and pressing their foreheads together. “We’ll get each other through this, just like everything else we’ve gotten through. I love the life we’ve had together.”

Yosuke sighed, smiling gently at how weak he still was to his husband with his calm voice and his sweet words and his warm touch. 

“Partners for life, eh?” he asked before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to Souji’s lips. 

“Partners for life,” Souji confirmed, nodding. “And after life. Shared urn and everything. And then, ghost partners. Or, if we’re lucky, reincarnated cat partners.”

“I was with you up until that last part.”

“Hopefully some nice old men will knit us some nice cat sweaters.”

“That’s it; I’m not sharing an urn with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I initially planned to write something longer and more fleshed-out (and not so dialogue-heavy and _gosh_ this is unpolished), but it’s almost the end of Souyo Week and ya girl is tired. The original idea was to have some other members of the IT there (they were all kinda forced to live near each other because they kept getting called back into fighting throughout their lives, but with work and kids and grandkids and cats to take care of, it’s hard to ever get the whole team together at once), and I was going to show Yosuke leading the party and Souji following him around like a lovesick puppy (or, you know, senior dog) who is all too willing to follow his hot leader’s orders (lol).
> 
> One more day! (One day more!)


	7. Meeting In-Laws + Relationship Reveal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my original idea for this chapter was way too angsty, and I didn't want to end on that note, so I had to go back to the drawing board at the last minute. And thus, the last piece of magic garbage in my dumpster was born! Get ready for some aged-up cuties and a liberal take on today's prompts, lol.

As Souji and Yosuke looked around the empty Inaba train station, Souji’s phone started going off in his hand.

Seeing it was Nanako calling, he answered, “Hey, Nanako. Where are you guys?”

_“Hey, Big Bro! I’m coming to pick you up now! Sorry I’m running late.”_

“You’re coming to pick us up?” he asked. “By yourself?”

_“Yeah, Dad and Mirai are gonna walk straight to the restaurant after work since it’s pretty close. Dad didn’t want to keep you two waiting in case work ran late, so he asked me to come get you. But I kinda got distracted at the house watching the quiz show.”_

“I can’t believe that show is still on the air,” Yosuke remarked, his ear pressed close to the backside of Souji’s phone so he could listen in.

_“Hi Yosuke! Yeah, I don’t have that channel at school, and there was a marathon on, so I kinda got sucked in. But I’m on my way now!”_

Souji listened closely to the background noise coming from the phone for a moment, and then he asked, “Are you driving right now?”

_“Of course I am! How did you think I was going to pick you up? With my hands?  I mean, I could probably pick one of you up for a few seconds if I tried, but definitely not both of you, not to mention your luggage…”_

“Nanako! Hang up the phone right now! And I don’t care if you’re late, you drive slow!”

_“I can drive and talk on the phone at the same time without meeting an untimely demise, thank you very much.”_

“Hang up!”

 _“See you soon!”_ Nanako said sunnily, and then the line went dead.

“I can’t believe her,” Souji said, followed by a heavy sigh as he pocketed his phone.

“Calm down, Partner. Nanako’s a responsible girl. And we’re in Inaba now; you know there are probably no other cars on the road anyway.”

“That doesn’t matter! I didn’t protect her all these years so she could go and endanger herself!”

“Okay, Mama Hen,” Yosuke teased, moving behind Souji to hug him and rest his chin on his shoulder. He knew that this, combined with having a plan, usually calmed Souji down.

He said softly near Souji’s ear, “Everything is going to be fine. Nanako’s gonna get here safely, and then we’re all gonna go to the restaurant, and then we’re gonna meet your uncle’s fiancée and share a nice meal together, and then we’re gonna start getting ready for this wedding, which is why we’re here.”

“Right. Okay,” Souji said closing his eyes and leaning back, allowing Yosuke to support his weight. “Thank you.”

They stayed like that until Nanako arrived, immediately parking and jumping out of the car to run toward them. Yosuke got to her first, running to meet her and crushing her in a hug.

“How’s my college girl?” he asked, lifting her in the air just as easily as he had since she was little.

Grabbing his shoulders to brace herself and laughing, she exclaimed, “She’s fine!”

“Good,” he said warmly, setting her down and giving her another quick hug.

“It’s so good to see you!”

Souji calmly walked up alongside them, smiling at seeing his two favorite people together again.

“And _you,”_ Nanako said, pulling away from Yosuke and zeroing in on Souji.

“And _you,”_ he said, opening his arms so Nanako could throw herself into them.

“I’ve missed you so much,” she said, hugging him so hard it actually hurt a little, not that he would ever complain about that.

“I’ve missed you too,” he said, trying not to get choked up as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“All right, Cousins, break it up,” Yosuke said as he got to work loading their luggage into the trunk of the car. “You have a whole week to hug each other. We’ve got a dinner to get to.”

Souji pulled back to look Nanako over and asked, “Did you get here okay? Were you wearing your seatbelt?”

“I’m _fine,”_ she said, punching him lightly in the arm. “And of course I was wearing my seatbelt.”

“Great,” Souji said, patting her head. “Now give me the keys.”

“No way!” Nanako said, jumping away from him and making a dash for the car. “I never get to drive when I’m at school, so now’s my only chance!”

“Yosuke, tell her to give me the keys!”

“Shotgun!” Yosuke yelled, running toward the passenger side door.

“Wait, no! At least let me sit up front, so—”

“So you can freak out and grab the wheel and reach over with your gargantuan legs to hit the brake?” Nanako asked, quickly buckling herself into the driver’s seat. “Sorry, Bro, Yosuke already called shotgun.”

“I only did that once,” Souji grumbled, climbing into the back seat. “And that’s _Big_ Bro to you.”

Nanako and Yosuke looked at each other and shared a conspiratorial laugh.

Souji could never win when the two of them teamed up against him.

“Buckle up, Big Bro!” Yosuke called over his shoulder as Nanako started the car up.

“Yeah yeah, shut up,” Souji mumbled, putting on his seatbelt and making sure it clicked into place loudly so his rude betrayer of a husband could hear.

As they pulled away from the train station, Yosuke said, “So Nanako, now that it’s just the three of us… wait, your dad’s car isn’t bugged, is it?”

Yosuke jokingly looked and felt around him, as if he was going to find a hidden camera or microphone somewhere.

“I honestly wouldn’t be surprised. But that’s why I always drive _super_ responsibly!” Nanako said, shooting an angelic smile over her shoulder at Souji.

“Keep your eyes on the road!”

“Anyways,” Yosuke said dismissively, “Give us the dirt on this lady!”

“Nanako, you don’t have to talk to him. Just focus on driving.”

“Mirai is okay, I guess,” Nanako said dispassionately, surprising both Yosuke and Souji. “Apparently she was a pretty big deal in her old precinct, but work was consuming her whole life. That’s why she moved here from the city, not even a year ago. Dad’s old partner retired, so she took his place.”

“Ooh, a partner-from-the-city romance? Those are my favorite kind!” Yosuke said, grinning.

“Ha, yeah,” Nanako said humorlessly. “And now they’re getting married in a few days, so I guess that’s that…”

“Nanako,” Yosuke said seriously, but then he burst out laughing. “I’ve never heard you talk about _anyone_ like that! Do you hate this lady or something?”

“What? No! I don’t… _dislike_ her. She’s pleasant enough. She’s really smart. She makes sure Dad takes his pills, which is nice…”

“But?” Souji asked.

“But… it’s obviously weird for me because he’s my dad, and the last time he wasn’t single was with my mom, which I can hardly even remember at this point. I get that it’s not about me, and this is about him and his happiness, but that’s the thing—I’m not sure this is going to make him happy. I haven’t spent a ton of time with them together, but I don’t really see a lot of affection there. Not that I really _want_ to see that, because, you know, _gross._ But I don’t know, I don’t want them to get married just because they’re both old and lonely.”

“I mean, there’d be nothing wrong with that,” Souji said, “but I doubt Uncle would take entering a relationship like this lightly.”

“It’s just, it happened so fast, and marriage is a big deal, and… and they don’t have what you guys have.”

Yosuke and Souji shared a concerned look before Yosuke said gently, “You, uh, know that’s kind of a really high standard, right? Like, unfairly high?”

“I’m well aware,” Nanako sighed. “Why do you think I’ve never dated anyone?”

Souji immediately replied, “Because you’re too young!”

“Partner, we were younger than her when we started dating.”

“Yeah,” Nanako agreed. “It’s not like I wouldn’t date if I found someone I really liked, but growing up watching you two together made my standards crazy high. Ironically, you guys might be the reason I stay single forever.”

Souji said under his breath, “I’m fine with that.”

“I just don’t want to see my dad settling for less, you know?”

“Oh hey, is that them?” Yosuke asked, pointing to a couple walking up the street a ways ahead of them.

“It _is_ them!” Nanako exclaimed, hitting the breaks and sending everyone flying against their seatbelts.

“Nanako!” Souji yelled.

“Sorry!” Nanako apologized, pulling over and turning the car off. “I just wanna watch them for a second.”

Just as invested in spying on Dojima as Nanako, Yosuke said, “Look, they do love each other!”

Souji (also invested in spying) took off his seatbelt and draped his arms over the front seat so he could get a closer look.

Since it was kind of hard to see, Yosuke narrated, “They’re holding hands, walking pretty close together, and they’re moving pretty slow. Seems like they’re dawdling, which is what I do all the time so I can spend more time with Souji.”

“Wait, really? I thought you just always get distracted by everything you see so then you’re not focused on walking anymore.”

“Ha! I’m more calculating than you think, Partner. I mean, not that I _don’t_ get distracted by a lot of things…”

“You’re getting distracted _now!_ Focus!” Nanako demanded.  

“Look look look, something’s happening!” Yosuke said excitedly.

They all watched unblinkingly as Dojima and his fiancée both laughed at something one of them said, and then they slowed to a stop, turning to face each other. 

All three of them ducked in their seats, as if Dojima wouldn’t recognize his own car if he happened to look their way.

Dojima smiled down at her and tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Classic,” Yosuke whispered, peeking over the dashboard.

She leaned up and placed a kiss on his cheek, and then Dojima just beamed at her.

“They’re cute,” Souji decided.

“That look in Dad’s eyes…” Nanako trailed off before turning to look at Souji’s face. “It’s a little bit like how you look at him.”

As soon as Souji noticed the tears welling up in her eyes, he leapt forward and hugged her head to his chest.

Yosuke reached out to take her hand and said, “Aw, Nanako-chan… Do you feel better now?”

Nanako nodded against Souji’s shirt. “Yeah, I do. Thank you.”

Trying to lighten the mood, Yosuke said, “Well, as empty as these streets are, we do need to move the car forward at some point.”

 _“I’m_ driving,” Souji said, already attempting to climb into the front seat until Yosuke put a hand on his head and pushed him back.

“Put your seatbelt on!” Nanako told him, turning the car back on.

“No! You’re not driving with tears in your eyes!”

As Nanako quickly wiped the corners of her eyes with her wrists, Yosuke said, “Souji, you drive with tears in your eyes all the time. Every time you see a family walking their dog, or especially a ‘lost pet’ poster, or god forbid we even _pass_ an animal shelter…”

“That’s different,” Souji mumbled, sulking back into his seat.

Nanako moved the car forward but then said, “Wait, I don’t wanna ruin their moment.”

Yosuke said, “I mean, _I_ kinda do.”

The two of them gave each other a mischievous grin, and Souji felt his stomach drop.

“Guys, no…”

“Pull up beside them,” Yosuke told Nanako, who giggled and pulled forward.

Souji sank even lower in his seat as they drove up behind the pair and Yosuke rolled his window down.

“HEY!” Yosuke yelled, as if he was genuinely outraged. “You kids get that PDA _out_ of _my_ STREETS!”

Dojima jumped higher than any of them had ever seen him jump, and when he looked back to see who it was, they saw that his entire face was bright red.

“We’re gonna get arrested,” Souji whimpered, sinking _even_ lower.

“Oh, hey kids,” Dojima said awkwardly as he bent to look in Yosuke’s window.

“Hi, Daddy!” Nanako said cheerfully.

“Hey, Uncle!” Yosuke greeted with a shit-eating grin.

“As soon as I heard an obnoxious voice, I should have known it was you,” Dojima said, reaching through the window and pushing Yosuke’s head.

“You really should have,” Yosuke cackled, batting Dojima’s hand away.

“I, uh, thought you all would be at the restaurant already,” Dojima said.

“I was late!” Nanako said with an unapologetic smile. “You two wanna hop in?”

“Heh, sure,” Dojima replied, moving to the back door.

Souji opened the door for him and then scooted over, and Dojima ducked into the car.

“So they stuck you in the back, huh?”

“They’re real brats when they get together,” Souji said, pulling his uncle into a hug.

“Well, at least I have one responsible kid,” Dojima laughed, earning a couple of protests from the the front seat. Affectionately wrapping a hand around the back of Souji’s head, he said quietly, “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course. We wouldn’t miss this.”

“Can I come in now?”

“Yeah, sorry,” Dojima said, letting go of Souji and scooting over so she could get into the car. “Boys, this is my fiancée. Mirai, this is my nephew, Souji, and his husband, Yosuke.”

She closed the door behind herself and then said, “So that would make you my nephew-in-law and my nephew-in-law’s husband? Ha, that’s a mouthful.”

Yosuke laughed and said, “You can just call us family.”

“I like the sound of that,” Mirai said, bowing to each of them. “It’s very nice to meet you, family.”

“So, are you ready to put up with this old man’s BS for the rest of your life?”

The entire car went silent for a moment as they tried to process whether or not Yosuke had really just said that.

Then Souji and Dojima yelled, _“Yosuke!”_ while Nanako just tried to stifle a laugh.

Without missing a beat, Mirai replied, “Absolutely. I can cut through this guy’s bullshit like a hot knife through butter.”

The car went silent again, and then everyone was laughing except Dojima.

“I like her already!” Yosuke declared.

“Me too,” Souji said, trying not to snort.

“What, did you guys think you wouldn’t like her?” Dojima asked defensively. “You don’t trust my judgement?”

Yosuke answered, “Not really.”

Souji said simply, “No.”

“Smart kids,” Mirai said, smiling at Dojima.

Dojima blushed and scratched his head. “Heh, what have I gotten myself into this time?”

Nanako said, “I don’t know about you, Dad, but _she’s_ just gotten herself into a pretty great family.”

“If we say so ourselves,” Yosuke added on.

“Agreed,” Souji said happily, always a little thrilled when Yosuke so proudly took ownership of being part of their family.

“It seems I am very fortunate indeed,” Mirai said, putting her hand over Dojima’s. “Right, Ryotaro?”

“We all are,” Dojima said, his jaw set like he was trying to keep it together.

He then picked up Mirai’s hand and kissed the back of it.

Nanako, Yosuke, and Souji all spoke in quick succession:

“Gross.”

“Super gross.”

“Super mega gross.”

Dojima sighed and rubbed his forehead. _“That’s_ my family.”

“Yay family!” Nanako and Yosuke simultaneously cheered.

Yosuke laughed at the coincidence and then lifted his hand to high-five her, but then Souji said, “Nanako, don’t high-five him while you’re driving.”

“I won’t, Big Bro.”

Yosuke looked at his raised hand, sad to be left hanging, and then he looked hopefully to Souji.

Souji lifted his hand, and Yosuke quickly brightened up again, high-fiving his husband and then holding his hand there in the air.

Nanako, Mirai, and Dojima all spoke in quick succession:

“Gross.”

“Super gross.”

“Super mega gross.”

Yosuke nodded in agreement, squeezing Souji’s hand even more tightly. “Ultra super mega gross.”

Souji smiled proudly, loving his Partner and the extraordinarily high relationship standard they set together. “Yeah, we’re the grossest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DID IT! What a week, man. x_x But I love me some Souyo, what can I say?
> 
> Congrats to everyone who participated; I'm proud of all of you and appreciate your existence! And a special shout-out to [treya_barton](https://archiveofourown.org/users/treya_barton/works) for putting forth the time and effort to organize Souyo Week this year. Please go and read everything she's ever written if you would like to enhance the quality of your Souyo-lovin' life.
> 
> Thank you for diving into my dumpster! Drop a comment to save an [exhausted] author's life. If you'd like to see more from me, subscribe or hit me up on [Tumblr](https://skye-maxwell.tumblr.com). ^_^


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